Trade vs FA release

[irabowman]

I've been doing some thinking today about trade -vs- FA release. So far each end of each season I look at guys who are good but that I don't plan on resigning their final season and have tried to trade them, thinking getting something for them is better than not resigning them and letting them hit FA. cause some of these guys I have let go for less than I hoped to get in trade value others I have gotten more offered than what I was looking for. I am guessing these guys I was offered more for so I would not trade them to someone else. I have been thinking though is a person better off keeping the guy and getting final year out of him then let him be FA. Hoping he is someone others might spend a lot on thus increasing your chances of getting players you want to sign in FA. Hope that makes sense.

Trade get picks and lose last year of service -vs-
FA Get final year service & hope he attracts bidding war and possibly eliminate someone bidding on a guy you can use.

Hope this gets some feedback.

[IrishGuy65]

I am probably not the norm, but I will keep a guy who is good through the end of his contract before releasing him or trading him for less than he is worth in my mind. A year with a good player is worth more to me than a 5th, 6th, or 7th round pick.

By the same token, I will trade for a guy rather than pay through the nose for a guy in FA. Simply, there is going to be ONE team that has a ton of money and will use it to sign a decent or better player, so rather than pay a lot, I'd rather pay a draft pick to get the guy cheap, and resign him cheap if I want to keep him.

This is one thing I think most people don't take into consideration when trading. They think the guy is useless to me so I should trade him CHEAP. I disagree. I will trade a decent player for what he's worth, or you can pay a ton of money to get him, or a similar player, in free agency. Just this alone makes a 3rd round pick worth giving up for a decent player... Paying too much more in salary is not worth it, to me. But then, I can't remember a time when I had cap issues, either. Again, I'm ECSTATIC to watch you pay 3x what a player is worth in FA instead of giving me fair value for a guy. It makes me really, really happy.

So, in my estimation, the way you look at this alters the values.

At the end of the day, you have to decide for yourself what's worthwhile. Ultimately, once my team is set pretty much the way I want it, when a guy is nearing the end of his useful life to me (because of age or ending contract and exorbitant salary demands), I usually draft a player to replace him in his last year, so the guy will be in his 2nd season when he's going to take over and now a little more seasoned. And if the rookie doesn't pan out, I can always trade, grab a FA, or try to draft again for that position, or even extend the guy's contract another season.

[Guest]

It's all relative Ira. You need to weigh up the age, cost to your cap as well as ability and whether you are getting an offer that you feel is with trading.

[Cory]

Another factor is where your team is at in it's development. If your team is in the middle of a rebuild, one extra year out of that aging player probably isn't worth as much as it would be to a team making a push for a championship.

[Aston]

I'm with Irish in that generally, I see value in getting even one year out of a player. On the other hand, I disagree that acquiring via FA is paying through the nose.

Draft picks are assets; when you give one up, another team gains. Cap is there to be used or wasted at your discretion. FAs are in effect free, although keep the long-term cap picture in mind. To spend a draft pick is to pay twice: once for the (sometimes pending) contract, again for the loss of pick. Sometimes that's the best use of a draft pick, especially if you're in the midst of a strong push, but free agency tends to be relatively rich with 'decent' players.

[IrishGuy65]

I'm with Irish in that generally, I see value in getting even one year out of a player. On the other hand, I disagree that acquiring via FA is paying through the nose.

Draft picks are assets; when you give one up, another team gains. Cap is there to be used or wasted at your discretion. FAs are in effect free, although keep the long-term cap picture in mind. To spend a draft pick is to pay twice: once for the (sometimes pending) contract, again for the loss of pick. Sometimes that's the best use of a draft pick, especially if you're in the midst of a strong push, but free agency tends to be relatively rich with 'decent' players.

I understand your point of view. Like I said, I'm not the norm. The key for me is known quality over unknown quality. Add to that late round picks often aren't around very long, if at all, whereas a 14 year veteran is at least around for a year, a 10 year vet is around for a few years, etc. This is why, if the player has some playing ability (>40 overall rating), I'm not giving him away, unless I plan on releasing him... then I'll HAPPILY take a 7th for him. If I'm going to use a guy, and I plan on giving him significant playing time (as a backup or ST guy), I'll need a 4th or maybe 5th if he's mostly a backup. I value ST guys more highly that mediocre backups :D If he's going to have starting playing time, or my starter is young, has very low endurance, or is injury prone, the price is going up.

Again, I feel the same on the other side. I'll pay a 3rd for an aging starter IF, like Aston said, I'm making a push that year.

Also, my FA philosophy is much, much different than yours, Aston, so I think we value things differently. In FA, I want to find guys to be with the team a while. I'm always TRYING to build cohesion. One year guys just don't excite me, and unless we are talking about RFA eligible guys, I'm VERY often looking at a multi year deal. I see you throwing a lot of 1 year deals out there, and that really creates a different set of values. So, you're happy to throw a $15MM, 1 year deal at a player if you have the cap space, because it's ONLY this year. I'm looking for 2+ years, so I have to consider my future cap as well. So, I think a big contract is, literally, paying through the nose. You do not. Neither is wrong in our own context. In general, I don't see the point of getting a guy for one year, unless you can franchise him.

[Guest]

There is a sort of checklist I often use to determine whether or not to let a guy ride out his deal with me.

I will keep a guy for one last season if

A: He is too old or bad to get more than a 7th round pick out of, but has value as a mentor/ST/leader/cohesion player.

B: He is a guy with specialized skills who I value more highly than anyone else. (I.E. no one will overpay for him)

C: He is a guy I think I can get back for less on the open market compared to what he is asking for to renegotiate.

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I will trade a guy if

A: Someone values him more highly than me and is willing to overpay

B: I will not be able to afford to re sign him when his contract is up

C: His performance has been sub optimal or he doesn't fit the system and I do not plan on keeping him around.

D: He is buried on the depth chart and will be be worth more to the team as a trade asset than a roster spot.

Often times getting a late round pick back for a guy you really have no use for is an underrated way to manage cap space while also maintaining cheap depth. You can use it to keep your special teams stocked, find return men, kickers, punters, long snappers.. And the tens of millions you save from not paying those guys top dollar can be used to keep your core together longer. This is a practice I have only recently begun to explore but I can already see the benefits of it.